Broncos worst-case scenario today

Baltimore — The Broncos can wind up anywhere from the No. 4 seed to tied with Houston for the No. 1 seed (with Houston owning the tiebreaker) by day’s end.

We gave the ideal day for the Broncos. Here’s the worst:

*Broncos lose to the Ravens. This would leave the Broncos with a 10-4 record and would all but eliminate them from contention for the top two playoff seeds, regardless of what the Patriots and Texans do in their games today.

The 10-3 Pats and 11-2 Texans own tiebreakers against the Broncos and with two games remaining, there would not likely be enough time for Denver to finish a full game ahead of either of those teams.

After the Pats play the tough San Francisco 49ers tonight, they finish with games at 2-11 Jacksonville and home against the 5-8 Miami Dolphins. The Pats aren’t likely to lost their final two so the Broncos chances of overcoming New England likely comes down to today.

The Broncos have to beat Baltimore and New England has to lose to the 49ers today. Otherwise, it’s highly likely the Broncos wind up with the No. 3 or 4 playoff seed, which means playing a first-round playoff game at home and second-round playoff game on the road.